Live Blogging at SXSW Film Fest!

So I got the low-down to give you...the word on the street at SXSW on film distribution....straight from the mouths of the acquisition execs themselves!

Here's some excerpts from the panels went to today:

1. When making a short film, really focus on Production Value, and make it the best you can since it's going to hopefully be your calling card to making a feature. Two ways you can focus on Production Value are: 1) CAST (hire professional SAG actors), and 2) LOCATION (get a real location to shoot in, not just somebody's apartment for example)

2 Ways to make money on your film without having a distributor:
a. iTunes downloads (at $1.99 a pop indie films are flying off the iTunes shelves!)
b. Custom Flix: your own on-demand DVD distribution at www.customflix.com
c. D.I.Y Platform theatrical release (put the movie in the theaters yourself!)

3. When screening your film at a film festival, try to get as many journalists to attend your screening as possible. The acquisitions execs reported that they definitely look at press clippings on a film, and what critics have to say before deciding to acquire a film or not. So hiring a publicist for your movie is money well spent. Get as much press as possible on your film.

4. Theatrical releases are very expensive! It could cost a distributor at least $400K to $500K in advertising and marketing costs. Therefore, distributors think hard before deciding to take something out theatrically, or whether they'll just go striaght to DVD or Cable.

5. When strategizing distribution for your movie, have plans A, B, C, etc. in place. If your plan A doesn't pan out (like getting that big distribution deal), be prepared to put plan B or C or D into action - even if it means a do-it-yourself strategy.

6. When trying to get your film screened by an acquisition exec at a distribution company, you can't just send an 'unsolicited' DVD screener and expect them to watch it. You have to really find someone within the company to champion your film, whether that means getting an inside referral, or at the very least emailing the acquisitions exec and introduce yourself before you just send a screener. They want to hear from you, have some kind of connection to you before watching your film.

7. So how do you go about meeting these people and making 'connections' at distribution companies? Film Festivals are a great place to meet them in an informal setting, since most of the execs sit on panels and are regularly approached by filmmakers after the panels, as well as at the various parties, screenings, etc.

8. Producers reps can help you in finding a U.S distribution deal, and strategizing your distribution plan, but aren't always necessary in getting to the distributors themselves. Acquisition execs say that they are quite happy to be approached and deal with filmmakers directly, but that when it comes to negotiating the distribution deal, it helps to have a producers rep or lawyer who are experienced in negotiating distribution contracts.

9. Making a trailer to send out on DVD is a waste of time and money. Acquisition execs say they would rather watch a short trailer of your film on the web, rather than have it on DVD. Furthermore, they will probably make their own trailer anyway once they acquire your film, so do NOT waste too much money on this now.

10. Distribution screenings are a waste of time and money since most acquisition execs report that they would rather watch a DVD of your movie, on their own time -- not have to schlep to a screening after work after they've been screening movies all day at their desk.

There you have it! Let me know what y'all think!